Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Neighborhood aggregation effect and its effective scale on reproductive success in Shorea laxa (Dipterocarpaceae)

  • Regular Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Plant Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

An Erratum to this article was published on 16 December 2009

Abstract

This study investigated whether reproductive success is affected by the intensity of neighborhood aggregation of adults in the tropical tree Shorea laxa. We focused on three processes in the early reproductive stages: seed maturation; seed survival (categorizing sound seed, predation by insects and predation by vertebrates) in pre-seed dispersal; and seedling survival in the post-seed dispersal stage. We used a model selection procedure to examine the aggregation effect on reproductive success. The intensity of neighborhood aggregation was represented by the neighborhood aggregation index, which contains the adult number within a specific radius and the distances to neighboring adults (weight of proximity). Then, we evaluated the models exhaustively with the aggregation index having different scales (radius and weight of proximity) to assess the scale on which aggregation had significant effects. In particular, the best effective neighborhood scale, which is defined as the scale of the index in the model with minimum Akaike information criterion, was examined to compare those scales among processes. We found that the probability of seed maturation, seed survival and seedling survival decreased with the aggregation index at specific scales. This suggests that aggregation influenced reproductive success negatively in both the pre- and post-seed dispersal stages. However, the selected radii differed among processes: >200 and 130 m in pre- and post-seed dispersal stages, respectively. The selected weight of proximity also seemed to have a weak effect on all processes and was not different among processes.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ashton PS (1982) Dipterocarpaceae. In: van Steenis CGGJ (ed) Flora Malesiana, Series I, vol 9(2), Nijhoff, The Hague, pp 237–552

  • Augspurger CK (1983) Seed dispersal of the tropical tree, Platypodium elegans, and the escape of its seedlings from fungal pathogens. J Ecol 71:759–771

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Connell JH (1971) On the role of natural enemies in preventing competitive exclusion in some marine animals and in rain forest trees. In: den Boer PJ, Gradwell GR (eds) Dynamics of numbers in populations. Proceedings of the Advanced Study Institute. Centre for Agriculture Publishing and Documentation, Osterbeek, pp 298–310

    Google Scholar 

  • Curran LM, Webb CO (2000) Experimental tests of the spatiotemporal scale of seed predation in mast-fruiting Dipterocarpaceae. Ecol Monogr 70:129–148

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Steven D, Putz FE (1984) Impact of mammals on early recruitment of a tropical canopy tree, Dipteryx panamensis, in Panama. Oikos 43:207–216

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deka RN, Wairiu M, Mullins PWC, Mullins E, Veenendaal EM, Townend J (1995) Use and accuracy of the filter-paper technique for measurement of soil matric potential. Eur J Soil Sci 46:233–238

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Development Core Team R (2009) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna

    Google Scholar 

  • Duncan DH, Nicotra AB, Wood JT, Cunningham SA (2004) Plant isolation reduces outcross pollen receipt in a partially self-compatible herb. J Ecol 92:977–985

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frazer GW, Canham CD, Lertzman KP (1999) Gap light analyzer (GLA), Version 2.0, Imaging software to extract canopy structure and gap light transmission indices from true-colour fisheye photographs, users manual and program documentation (eds). Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, and the Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, New York, http://www.rem.sfu.ca/forestry/index.htm or http://www.ecostudies.org

  • Fujimori N, Samejima H, Kenta T, Ichie T, Shibata M, Iida S, Nakashizuka T (2006) Reproductive success and distance to conspecific adults in the sparsely distributed tree Kalopanax pictus. J Plant Res 119:195–203

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Garcia D, Chacoff NP (2007) Scale-dependent effects of habitat fragmentation on hawthorn pollination, frugivory, and seed predation. Conserv Biol 21:400–411

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ghazoul J, McLeish M (2001) Reproductive ecology of tropical forest trees in logged and fragmented habitats in Thailand and Costa Rica. Plant Ecol 153:335–345

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hanson T, Brunsfeld S, Finegan B (2006) Variation in seedling density and seed predation indicators for the emergent tree Dipteryx panamensis in continuous and fragmented rain forest. Biotropica 38:770–774

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howe HF (1989) Scatter- and clump-dispersal and seedling demography: hyapothesis and implication. Oecologia 79:417–426

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howe HF, Smallwood J (1982) Ecology of seed dispersal. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 13:201–228

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hubbell SP, Ahumada JA, Condit R, Foster RB (2001) Local neighborhood effects on long-term survival of individual trees in a neotropical forest. Ecol Res 16:859–875

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Isagi Y, Tateno R, Matsuki Y, Hirao A, Watanabe S, Shibata M (2007) Genetic and reproductive consequences of forest fragmentation for populations of Magnolia obovata. Ecol Res 22:382–389

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Janzen DH (1970) Herbivores and the number of tree species in tropical forest. Am Nat 104:501–528

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Janzen DH (1971) Seed predation by animals. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 2:465–492

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kitajima K, Augspurger CK (1989) Seed and seedling ecology of a monocarpic tropical tree, Tachigalia versicolor. Ecology 70:1102–1114

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kitamura S, Yumoto T, Poonswad P, Noma N, Chuailua P, Plongmai K, Maruhashi T, Suckasam C (2004) Pattern and impact of hornbill seed dispersal at nest trees in a moist evergreen forest in Thailand. J Trop Ecol 20:545–553

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lyal CHC, Curran LM (2003) More than black and white: a new genus of nanophyrine seed predators of Dipterocarpaceae and a review of Meregallia Alonso-Zarazaga (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea: Nanophyidae). J Nat Hist 37:57–105

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Masaki T, Nakashizuka T (2002) Seedling demography of Swida controversa: effect of light and distance to conspecifics. Ecology 83:3497–3507

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maycock CR, Thewlis RN, Ghazoul J, Nilus R, Burslem D (2005) Reproduction of dipterocarps during low intensity masting events in a Bornean rain forest. J Veg Sci 16:635–646

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCullagh P, Nelder JA (1989) Generalized linear models. Chapman and Hall, London

    Google Scholar 

  • McCulloch CE (2003) Generalized linear mixed models. Institute of Mathematical Statistics, Beachwood

    Google Scholar 

  • Momose K, Yumoto T, Nagamitsu T, Kato M, Nagamasu H, Sakai S, Hamid AA, Harrison DR, Itioka T, Inoue T (1998) Pollination biology in a lowland diptrocarp forest in Sarawak, Malaysia. I. Characteristics of the plant–pollinator community in a lowland dipterocarp forest. Am J Bot 85:1477–1501

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naito Y, Konuma A, Iwata H, Suyama Y, Seiwa K, Okuda T, Lee SL, Muhammad N, Tsumura Y (2005) Selfing and inbreeding depression in seeds and seedlings of Neobalanocarpus heimii (Dipterocarpaceae). J Plant Res 118:423–430

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nakagawa M, Nakashizuka T (2004) Relationships between physical and chemical characteristics of dipterocarp seeds. Seed Sci Res 14:363–369

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nakagawa M, Itioka T, Momose K, Yumoto T, Komai F, Morimoto K, Jordal BH, Kato M, Kaliang H, Hamid AA, Inoue T, Nakashizuka T (2003) Resource use of insect seed predators during general flowering and seeding events in a Bornean dipterocarp rain forest. Bull Entomol Res 301:455–466

    Google Scholar 

  • Nakagawa M, Takeuchi Y, Kenta T, Nakashizuka T (2005) Predispersal seed predation by insects vs. vertebrates in six dipterocarp species in Sarawak, Malaysia. Biotropica 37:389–396

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nakagawa M, Miguchi H, Nakashizuka T (2006) The effects of various forest uses on small mammal communities in Sarawak, Malaysia. For Ecol Manag 231:55–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nakagawa M, Miguchi H, Sato K, Sakai S, Nakashizuka T (2007) Population dynamics of arboreal and terrestrial small mammals in a tropical rainforest, Sarawak, Malaysia. Raffles Bull Zool 55:389–395

    Google Scholar 

  • Nathan R, Muller-Landau HC (2000) Spatial patterns of seed dispersal, their determinants and consequences for recruitment. Trends Ecol Evol 15:278–285

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Paine CET, Beck H (2007) Seed predation by neotropical rain forest mammals increases diversity in seedling recruitment. Ecology 88:3076–3087

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Peters HA (2003) Neighbour-regulated mortality: the influence of positive and negative density dependence on tree populations in species-rich tropical forests. Ecol Lett 6:757–765

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rocha OJ, Aguilar G (2001) Reproductive biology of the dry forest tree Enterolobium cyclocarpum (Guanacaste) in Costa Rica: a comparison between trees left in pastures and trees in continuous forest. Am J Bot 88:1607–1614

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Root RB (1973) Organization of a plant–arthropod associationin simple and diverse habitats: the fauna of collards (Brassica oleracea). Ecol Monogr 43:95–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sakai S (2002) General flowering in lowland mixed dipterocarp forests of South-east Asia. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 75:233–248

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sakai S, Momose K, Yumoto T, Kato M, Inoue T (1999) Beetle pollination of Shorea parvifolia (section Mutica, Dipterocarpaceae) in a general flowering period in Sarawak, Malaysia. Am J Bot 86:62–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schupp EW (1988) Seed and early seedling predation in the forest understory and in treefall gaps. Oikos 51:71–78

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schupp EW (1990) Annual variation in seedfall, postdispersal predation, and recruitment of a neotropical tree. Ecology 71:504–515

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schupp EW (1992) The Janzen–Connell model for tropical tree diversity—population implications and the importance of spatial scale. Am Nat 140:526–530

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stacy EA (2001) Cross-fertility in two tropical tree species: evidence of inbreeding depression within populations and genetic divergence among populations. Am J Bot 88:1041–1051

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Steffan-Dewenter I, Munzenberg U, Tscharntke T (2001) Pollination, seed set and seed predation on a landscape scale. Proc R Soc Lond Ser B Biol Sci 268:1685–1690

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sun IF, Chen YY, Hubbell SP, Wright SJ, Noor N (2007) Seed predation during general flowering events of varying magnitude in a Malaysian rain forest. J Ecol 95:818–827

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Takeuchi Y, Nakashizuka T (2007) Effect of distance and density on seed/seedling fate of two dipterocarp species. For Ecol Manag 247:167–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Takeuchi Y, Kenta T, Nakashizuka T (2005) Comparison of sapling demography of four dipterocarp species with different seed-dispersal strategies. For Ecol Manag 208:237–248

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Toy RJ, Toy SJ (1992) Oviposition preferences and egg survival in Nanophyes-Shoreae (Coleoptera, Apionidae), a weevil fruit-predator in South-East Asian rain-forest. J Trop Ecol 8:195–203

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wills C, Condit R, Foster RB, Hubbell SP (1997) Strong density- and diversity-related effects help to maintain tree species diversity in a neotropical forest. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 94:1252–1257

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yasuda M, Miura S, Ishii N, Okuda T, Nor Azman H (2005) Fallen fruits and terrestrial vertebrate frugivores: a case study in a lowland tropical rain forest in Peninsular Malaysia. In: Forget P-M, Lambert JE, Hulme MPE, Vander Wall SB (eds) Seed fate: predation, dispersal and seedling establishment. CABI, Wallingford, UK, pp 151–174

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors thank to Ms. L. Chong (Forest Research Centre, Sarawak) for her permission and assistance for us to conduct this work in Sarawak. We are also grateful to Dr. K. Kitajima and an anonymous reviewer for valuable suggestions for our early manuscript. Dr. S. Sakai, Dr. T. Kenta and members of laboratory of forest biology in Kyoto University also gave us valuable suggestions for this study. We also thank Dr. M. Aiba and Mr. B. Jingan for field work assistant. This study was financially supported by the Grant for the Biodiversity Research of the 21st Century COE, MEXT Japan (A14), research grant from Showa Shell Sekiyu and the JSPS Research Fellowship for Young Scientists for Y. Takeuchi.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Forest Biology, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa Oiwakecho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan

    Yayoi Takeuchi

  2. Laboratory of Forest Ecology, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan

    Hiromitsu Samejima

  3. Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan

    Michiko Nakagawa

  4. Botanical Research Centre, KM 20, Borneo Height Road, 93250, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

    Bibian Diway

  5. Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Tohoku, 980-8578, Japan

    Tohru Nakashizuka

Authors
  1. Yayoi Takeuchi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hiromitsu Samejima
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Michiko Nakagawa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Bibian Diway
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Tohru Nakashizuka
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yayoi Takeuchi.

Additional information

An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10265-009-0288-7

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

10265_2009_265_MOESM1_ESM.pdf

Fig. S1. Estimated coefficients of the NAI in each model for seed fate models; x-axis radius k meters (10 ≤ k ≤ 300 per 5 m), y-axis weight of proximity l (0 ≤ k ≤ 2 per 0.05). a Seed maturation, b seed survival, (b-1 sound seeds, b-2 predation by insects, b-3 predation by vertebrates). Solid line indicates 0 (PDF 362 kb)

10265_2009_265_MOESM2_ESM.pdf

Fig. S2. The relationship between reproductive success and NAI in the best models. a Proportion of immature seeds, b mature seeds (b-1 proportion of sound seeds, b-2 proportion of seeds predated by insects, b-3 proportion of seeds predated by vertebrates) (PDF 341 kb)

10265_2009_265_MOESM3_ESM.pdf

Fig. S3. AIC values for seedling survival models including the NAI. a Seedling survival ~ NAI + water + light, b seedling survival ~ NAI + water, c seedling survival ~ NAI + light, d seedling survival ~ NAI. x-axis Radius k meters (30 ≤ k ≤ 300 per 5 m), y-axis weight of proximity l (0 ≤ k ≤ 2 per 0.05). The solid line indicates AIC values of the null model that does not contain the NAI (PDF 375 kb)

10265_2009_265_MOESM4_ESM.pdf

Fig. S4. Estimated coefficients of the NAI in each model for seedling survival. a Seedling survival ~ NAI +water + light, b seedling survival ~ NAI + water, c seedling survival ~ NAI + light, d seedling survival ~ NAI; x-axis radius k meters (30 ≤ k ≤ 300 per 5 m), y-axis weight of proximity l (0 ≤ k ≤ 2 per 0.05); a Seed maturation, b sound seeds, c predation by insects, d predation by vertebrates. Solid line indicates 0 (PDF 335 kb)

Table S1 Seed fate per mother tree; Table S2 Number of seedling survival per mother tree (XLS 21 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Takeuchi, Y., Samejima, H., Nakagawa, M. et al. Neighborhood aggregation effect and its effective scale on reproductive success in Shorea laxa (Dipterocarpaceae). J Plant Res 123, 249–259 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10265-009-0265-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10265-009-0265-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation